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Talamanca Organica

by CariBeans
Info Details
Country Costa Rica   
Type Semi-Dark   (72%; Lot #007-0001)
Strain Matina   
Source Costa Rica   
Flavor Spices & Herbs   
Style Rustic      
lo
med
hi
CQ
Sweetness
Acidity
Bitterness
Roast
Intensity
Complexity
Structure
Length
Impact
The Nickelback of choc bars
Appearance   4 / 5
Color: violet coffee
Surface: good molding; unsightly airside
Temper: semi-gloss
Snap: mutters
Aroma   7.1 / 10
recessed / subdued... slightly hammy with a soft spice character -> goes to coffee grounds, then, strangely, white latex paint -> astonishingly it gives off a berry whiff! (some purple shade for interior warmth)
Mouthfeel   12 / 15
Texture: yips & tics
Melt: trundles along
Flavor   38.1 / 50
cinna-choc -> goes hard into cocoa -> sparks back up cinnamon as the progression gradually shifts toward chicory before brown sugar -> grindstone finish... best suited for hot cocoa, cupcakes, & syrup
Quality   14.8 / 20
The definition of average.

A placid chocolate waiting... for something to happen. What occurs holds only passing interest in contrast to its origin -- the beach haven Playa Cocles, Costa Rica (3km south of Puerto Viejo). There, ex-pat Christina tends to a very small, single-family orchard. Her permaculture environment teems with fruit trees (commonplace banana & papaya grow among more local exotica), herbs & hardwoods.

The Theobroma here stands noteworthy for being the most hygienic along the coast & Christina's rather unique fermentation method: hanging sacks of cacáo seeds from tree branches to let their pulp drip out. This harkens back to the Mesoamerican technique witnessed in the 1500s by Oviedo & Bishop Landa of drawing cocoa butter. Some 300 years later Domingo Ghirardelli happened upon The Broma Process in which hanging a bag of chocolate in a warm room caused cacáo butter to do likewise.

Recently Christina has been experimenting with a single box ferment. All part & parcel to understanding & advancing the craft.

INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, raw sugar

Reviewed February 6, 2013

  

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